Three Times Gibbs Cried (And Someone Comforted Him)
by allison221
Summary: Sometimes, even Gibbs cries. These are a few of the times when he broke down and someone was there to help get him through it. There will be lots of whump, but also a healthy dose of team bonding moments.
1. Chapter 1

Three Times Gibbs Cried (And Someone Comforted Him)

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to CBS.**

 **Lately, I have been trying to find some good whump stories about my favorite NCIS character, the one and only Leroy Jethro Gibbs. But most of the whump stories I find are about Tony or McGee. I do like Tony and McGee a lot, but what I really want is some Gibbs whump. So, here it is.**

 **I know I already did a Gibbs has a nightmare story before, but this time, Tony and McGee are in it. It is more of a Gibbs/Tony friendship story, though. I will try to do a Gibbs/McGee story later.**

1\. The first time it happened, Gibbs was riding with Tony and McGee to the latest crime scene. It was 5:31 in the evening and the ride was taking quite a while.

The last cup of coffee Gibbs had was sometime between 3:00 and 3:15 in the afternoon. Also, because of all the overnighters the team's been having lately, the last time Gibbs got any sleep was about four nights ago. So, it wasn't too surprising when Tony looked over his shoulder from the driver's seat and noticed that Gibbs had fallen asleep.

McGee was asleep in the back, so Tony was the only awake. Hopefully, he could last the whole car ride without falling asleep at the wheel. He figured maybe he could stop somewhere and buy something with caffeine like soda or a coffee while Gibbs was still asleep.

About 20 minutes later, McGee finally woke up.

"Hey, Tony," McGee yawned. "You tired? If you want, I could drive for you."

"Nope! I'm fine, McSleepy!" Tony answered rather enthusiastically. "You hungry back there?"

"A little," McGee replied. "But it will probably be a while until we can eat. Gibbs doesn't want to take any stops. We have to get there right away." That's when he noticed all the chips, donut holes, and other various snack food items on the seat next to him.

"Hey! What is all this?" McGee yelled. "When did you have time to go out and buy a bunch of junk food?"

"When do you think I got it?" Tony replied back as he took a sip of soda and munched on some popcorn. When McGee didn't answer, he half whispered, "I got them at a gas station. They're everywhere."

"Not very healthy," McGee said as he looked through all of the snacks, eventually finding some salted peanuts, which was probably the healthiest thing Tony bought.

"I know," Tony said. "But it's cheap."

"And Gibbs was okay with it?" McGee asked as he started munching on the peanuts.

"Gibbs is asleep," Tony answered, gesturing towards the sleeping man next to him.

"He must be really tired," McGee said as he tried to look at Gibbs' face.

"Yeah," Tony whispered. "Try not to talk so loud, okay? Let him sleep. He needs it."

A few more minutes passed and Tony started noticing that Gibbs was moving in his sleep. At first it was just a little movement, but soon, his whole body was turning and shaking. He seemed distressed.

Before Tony could think of what to do, he heard a whimper. It was Gibbs.

"Kelly!"

That one word was enough to send chills down Tony's back. He knew he should try to wake his boss up before it got too out of hand, even though Gibbs really did need the sleep.

However, the screams continued as he tried to wake him. Gibbs seemed to be getting more and more desperate.

"Don't go! Please don't go! I love you! Please don't leave me! I need you! Please! Kelly!"

By now, tears were rolling down Gibbs' face while he slept.

"Boss!" Tony yelled as loud as he could while shaking the older man's shoulder with his free hand. "Boss, wake up! It's just a dream! You're only dreaming." He continued to yell and shake Gibbs' shoulder for as long as he could.

Suddenly, Gibbs opened his eyes and gasped. His breathing was rapid and he was still shaking quite a bit.

"It's okay," Tony said, trying to sound gentle and calm. "You were just having a nightmare, boss. But it's okay now. Everything is okay now." He started stroking Gibbs' back to try and calm him down.

"No!" Gibbs cried. "No! Everything is not okay! She's gone! My daughter is gone and I- I can never see her again!"

While McGee was trying to think of something reassuring he could say, a sob escaped Gibbs' throat and a new wave of tears started flowing down his cheeks.

At first, Tony didn't know what to do. He had rarely seen Gibbs break down like this before. Maybe the boss was more sleep deprived than he thought.

Suddenly, Tony got an idea. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he knew he had to do something. He couldn't just drive and do nothing to comfort the man he admired so much. Although he usually didn't show it much, he cared for Gibbs just as much as he did for the rest of the team.

It was now or never and never was definitely not an option. So, he reached over and wrapped his free hand around Gibbs' hand, squeezing it tightly. If Gibbs had noticed that Tony was now holding his hand, he wasn't showing it.

After about 10 more minutes or so, the sobs had finally stopped, though the tears remained.

"Thank you," Gibbs said rather softly.

"Anytime, boss," Tony replied, happy to hear that his effort to comfort Gibbs was appreciated. "I can drive with both of my hands if you want me to," Tony said as he started to move his hand away and put it on the steering wheel.

"N-no," Gibbs said a little nervously, reaching his hand out. "Just a little bit longer. Please?" Tony looked back at him and noticed that he had a small smile on his tear stained face. It even looked like he was blushing a little. In other words, he liked having his hand held. Realizing this, Tony took Gibbs' hand and gave it another squeeze. If that's what it would take to make his boss feel better, he would hold his hand for the rest of the ride.

"Sure, as long as you want," Tony said, smiling warmly and making eye contact.

Then, from the backseat, McGee leaned over to talk to Gibbs.

"Hey, boss, I know it's not much, but would you like something to eat?" McGee asked as he showed off a few snacks to choose from. "We actually have quite a lot of snacks now, thanks to Tony. I know that you haven't eaten for a while, so it might be good if you have something now, you know? I don't want you to starve."

"Thank you," Gibbs said softly, taking a bag of chips from McGee. "You really care about me, don't you?" More tears started to form in his eyes. "You're good friends."

Since Tony and McGee rarely heard Gibbs say something like that, they weren't really sure what to say next.

"I don't know why I'm acting like this," Gibbs said as he started to wipe away the tear stains on his face, even though he knew he was still crying. "I don't mean to be weird. I'm just usually alone whenever I have one of those dreams. I'm not used to having someone comfort me."

Hearing Gibbs say that, all Tony could think was how much he wanted to give him a hug. It was even possible that Gibbs might actually accept it. He really did look like he wanted someone to comfort him.

After a few more tears were shed, Tony asked, "Are you going to eat those chips soon?" Although he hoped that the food would help Gibbs feel a tiny bit better, he knew that nothing would ever help him get over the loss of his daughter. No one gets over something like that, they just learn to live with it.

Gibbs was now looking at the bag of chips from McGee rather nervously. A little worried, Tony asked, "Is something wrong, boss? Are you feeling sick? Does your stomach hurt or something?" He knew he sounded like an overly concerned parent, but he couldn't help it. Even though Gibbs was older than him, his paternal instincts had kicked in.

"No," Gibbs answered in a shaky voice. "I-I am hungry, but . . ."

Tony could feel Gibbs' hand trembling. It felt awfully cold. As he looked at his hand still tightly wrapped around Gibbs' hand, that was when he realized what the problem was. He knew exactly what to do.

So, he took his hand off of Gibbs hand. Of course, as predicted, he immediately heard Gibbs' familiar whimper. He also noticed that Gibbs had started shaking again. He was right. Gibbs really did want him to comfort him. He had never seen his boss so needy before.

"T-Tony," Gibbs stuttered, trying not to sound nervous, though it was pretty obvious to the younger agent that he was.

"It's okay," Tony said in a gentle voice as he placed his right hand on Gibbs' back and started stroking him again. "I've got you." Gibbs immediately stopped shaking and began to calm down.

After all the chips were eaten, along with a few other snacks and a drink, Gibbs turned to look at Tony with pleading eyes. They were practically puppy dog eyes, which was hard to believe. Tony was much more used to Gibbs' piercing blue eyes.

Eventually, Tony took his hand off of his boss's back. Almost immediately after, Gibbs reached out his hand, which Tony took, squeezing it tightly.

"Like I said, as long as you want," Tony said, smiling affectionately.

"I could get used to this, you know," Gibbs replied, smiling back.

Watching everything from the backseat, McGee was glad that Tony had managed to make Gibbs feel a little better, but now he was feeling kind of awkward. He didn't want to ruin their moment, so he closed his eyes to try and fall back asleep. If he couldn't, then he would just try to relax and be quiet.

About 5 minutes later, they finally made it to the crime scene. Only a few minutes later, Ducky and Palmer arrived.

As Ducky was giving Gibbs all the details he could on the Marine's death and rambling on like he always did, he was surprised when he noticed his friend had tear stains on his face and red eyes. It even looked like he had unshed tears in his eyes. Something had definitely happened.

"Jethro," Ducky said worriedly as he touched Gibbs' damp face. "Are you all right? You've been crying."

"Yes, I'm . . ." Gibbs started to reply before stopping for a moment. He was going to say he was fine, but he knew it was unmistakably obvious to anyone that he had been crying. Not to mention the fact that Ducky was one of his closest friends, who was clearly worried about him. He didn't want to lie to him. "No," he said, staring at the ground. "No, I'm not all right, Duck," he answered as he looked up into Ducky's eyes. "I'm not." He sounded very emotional, which everyone on the team had picked up on, even Palmer.

He glanced over at Tony, who walked over to his side. "But I will be," he said as he took Tony's hand. "Someone will help me feel better. I'll be okay," he said with a slight smile

Knowing he was with people who cared about him, he let his unshed tears flow.

That was when he felt a familiar squeeze from Tony. He squeezed back. He knew it wouldn't be too long until he would have to slap the young agent's head. He smirked, wondering what Tony would do next. Though, for now, he was perfectly content, standing hand in hand together. He would not forget Tony's kindness today.


	2. Chapter 2

Three Times Gibbs Cried (And Someone Comforted Him)

 **This time, the whole team helps comfort a broken Gibbs. Other characters that couldn't be listed include the always caring Abby and the incredible Ziva David. It's always great when the whole team comes together.**

2\. The second time it happened was after the team came back from catching the suspect too late.

When they arrived at his hideout, he immediately took out his gun and shot the daughter of a Marine he kidnapped multiple times in her head.

He tried to run off, but Tony and Ziva were faster than he was.

Gibbs had called an ambulance, but the little girl had died quickly. When the Paramedics arrived, Gibbs told them that he had to take her back to NCIS, where her mother was. Understanding, they left.

Eventually, Ducky arrived to take the young girl back. On the way back, he sighed sadly, thinking about how she was the fifth child the team had failed to rescue in only two months. She was only four years old.

Naturally, when the mother was told what happened to her daughter, she was heart-broken and devastated. She couldn't stop crying and screaming. Even worse, she blamed Gibbs, who was the one to tell her the news.

"It's your fault!" she screamed. "It's your fault! You were supposed to save her! You bastard! You said you and your team would do your best to bring her back!" she cried, pushing Gibbs until eventually his back hit the wall.

"We tried to—" Gibbs replied before being harshly cut off.

"You tried? You tried?" the mother shouted, tears rolling down her face. "Well, you didn't try hard enough! Your best wasn't enough! It wasn't enough! And now my little girl is gone!" That was when she started to sob uncontrollably.

Eventually, the mother left the room.

Gibbs slid down to the floor, trying hard to fight back tears that were threatening to fall. He immediately wiped his eyes.

About seven or eight minutes later, he finally walked out and slowly headed back to his desk. Once he was standing in front of his desk, he turned around to look at his tired team. They were all at their desks.

"Hey, boss," McGee said, looking up from his desk. He wondered how telling the mother about her daughter went. Personally, it was a task he could never get used to. Telling families about the death of a loved one was always one of the hardest parts of the job.

Only a few seconds later, Ducky walked in from the elevator.

"Oh," he said, surprised to see everyone. "You're all still here. It's past midnight. You must be exhausted and ready to go home by now."

"Oh, yeah," Tony said, yawning loudly. "I am bushed. Wait, does this mean I really am getting older?"

"Well, yes and no," Ducky said, chuckling. "While it is true that people can get more tired with age, I'm pretty sure one of the reasons you're so tired is because it's late. You're not the only one here who wants to go to bed, you know."

"Right," said Tony, nodding his head. "You're right. So, what's up?"

"Oh, I was just coming up here to tell Jethro I was leaving since I have released the body to the mother," Ducky explained. "The poor woman was so distraught when she saw her daughter."

Gibbs couldn't help but remember what the mother had said, or more accurately, screamed. "You were supposed to save her!" kept on repeating over and over inside his head.

Then he started to think of the other four children he had failed to save. First, it was a Navy Lieutenant's eight-year-old daughter and her six-year-old son. Both of them were abused and stabbed to death. Then there was the seven-year-old son of a Marine who was suffocated by his uncle. Most recently, a Petty Officer's nine-year-old daughter was reported missing and was eventually found drowned in a lake.

It was all just too much. Frustrated and unable to take it anymore, Gibbs started throwing everything on and around his desk, including his chair and even his computer.

"Jethro!" Ducky shouted, running toward his friend. "Jethro, please calm down!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around him.

Gibbs struggled in Ducky's arms for a while.

Tony, Ziva, and McGee were all watching, too scared to leave their desks.

"Let me help you, Jethro!" Ducky yelled. "Please!"

Eventually, Gibbs stopped struggling and wrapped his arms around Ducky.

"It's not fair!" he shouted. "It's not fair!"

"I know," Ducky said softly. "I know."

"I- I couldn't save her!" Gibbs cried, feeling the tears returning. "I couldn't save any of them!" By this point, he didn't care anymore. If he felt like crying, then he was going to cry. What the hell was wrong with that?

"It's my fault," he said as he began to sob, tears streaming down his face. "It's my fault."

"No, Jethro," Ducky said, stroking the back of his friend's head. "It's not your fault. The only ones to blame for their deaths are their killers."

"But I didn't do enough!" Gibbs exclaimed.

Ducky looked at him sadly, wishing he could take his guilt and pain away.

"You didn't see her face when I told her," Gibbs continued. "You didn't hear the things she was screaming at me. She blames me, you know? All the parents blamed me. And with good reason. I let them down. I let them all down. Especially their children."

"Oh, Jethro," said Ducky, pained to see his dear friend so broken. He could feel tear drops falling onto his neck.

Deciding he couldn't just watch his boss break down like that, Tony started to walk toward Gibbs and Ducky.

"Boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs looked up at him. "Is there anything that I can—" Before Tony could finish his sentence, Gibbs grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. Apparently, Ducky had been forgotten. Not that Ducky seemed to mind too much. He figured it was a good thing for Gibbs to seek comfort from his team.

"Okay," Tony said, a bit surprised. "I- I can do that. I can hug. I know how to do that."

As he hugged his boss back, he could feel a few tears welling up in his eyes. He had felt like crying ever since he got back. He tried to be strong in front of the team, but now that Gibbs was crying, he felt safe letting his own tears out.

While Gibbs continued to sob, Tony turned to Ziva and McGee, trying to signal them to come over.

Ziva came over right away, joining in the hug. Gibbs was like a father to her, so she didn't hesitate to join in. He was always there for her, so she would be there for him.

McGee gestured to Tony to wait, then picked up the phone to call Abby. He hoped she hadn't left yet. Luckily, she picked up after three rings.

"Hey Abby, could you please come up here before you leave?" McGee asked in a somewhat panicky voice.

"Of course," Abby replied. "What's wrong? You sound really nervous."

"It's Gibbs," McGee answered. "He's crying. He needs" —Abby hung up— "you."

Assuming that she was coming, McGee put the phone down, got up, and joined in the group hug. Although he thought it was kind of strange to be in a group hug with Gibbs, he was actually beginning to feel quite comfortable. Tony and Ziva were feeling the same way as well.

Gibbs was now aware that his whole team was hugging him, but he still couldn't stop crying yet. His feelings of guilt still hadn't gone away.

"It's not your fault," Tony said, rubbing the back of Gibbs' neck. "You did all you could to save them, boss."

"No!" Gibbs cried back. "I didn't! I didn't do enough! I should have done more!" He had never felt like such a disappointment before. It was one of the worst feelings in the world. "I let everyone down. Everyone. The parents, the children, I even let you guys down."

"What?" McGee exclaimed, completely floored by that last sentence. "That is impossible! You could never let us down, boss!"

"McGee is right," said Ziva. "We all know that you always do your best to protect others."

"We're proud to have you as our boss," Tony said, hugging Gibbs tightly.

Still, Gibbs continued to cry. However, he was now crying partly because of his team's kind words and support.

About a minute later, Abby came bursting in from the elevator.

"Gibbs!" she yelled. "Where is he? Where's my Gibbs?"

Tony, Ziva, and McGee all turned around to look at her.

"Abby," Gibbs whispered when he saw her. "Abby!"

As soon as Tony and the rest of the team broke off their hugs, Gibbs immediately ran into her open arms. Abby was the one person who could always make anyone feel better. Her hugs were the best and she always knew just what to say to comfort people.

"I heard what happened to the little girl," Abby said as she gently rubbed Gibbs' back.

"That's five of them now, Abs," Gibbs said tearfully. "Five kids. And I couldn't save even one of them."

Suddenly, his legs started to buckle.

"Abs, I think I need to sit down," he admitted. Abby helped lower him to the floor, sitting down next to him once he seemed comfortable.

"So, do you want to keep talking about it?" she asked. Since Gibbs was usually a man of few words, she thought maybe he was done talking, but he continued.

"I just feel so pathetic right now, you know? Sometimes, this job really sucks. You want to save everyone, but you can't. And when it's children, it feels even worse."

"I know," Abby said sympathetically. "I can't even begin to tell you how many days I've felt the same."

"If only I was—"

"No!" Abby shouted, cutting Gibbs off. "You can't blame yourself for their deaths. You did everything you could, Gibbs. You have to believe me. I mean, you worked so hard to find them."

Touching his tear-stricken face, she said, "You care so much about helping others. That's one of the reasons why I love you so much." Then she gave him a kiss on his forehead.

That's when Ducky and the rest of the team came over.

"Miss Sciuto is certainly right about that, Jethro," said Ducky. "The fact that you try so hard to help is what's most important."

"And you never give up," Tony chimed in.

"You always do what is right," Ziva added.

"You're one of the most decent men I have ever met," said McGee. "We're all so lucky to have met you. We really enjoy working with you."

"Don't you see?" Abby asked. "No matter what happens, we're always going to love and respect you. If you can't save someone, then we're here for you. That's what it means to be a team and a family. Going through everything together. All the happy good times and the sucky bad times."

"Thank you," Gibbs said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"Are you starting to feel better, Jethro?" Ducky asked, putting his hand on Gibbs' shoulder.

"Yeah," Gibbs answered, his voice breaking a little. "A lot better, actually. You all really know how to make me feel better about myself."

Ducky smiled, relieved that Gibbs wasn't so upset anymore. Looking at the younger agents, he could tell that they were relieved as well.

"I guess I just needed to let it all out for a while," Gibbs said as he wiped his tear stained face.

"Well, of course," said Ducky. "It's always healthier to let your emotions out instead of hiding them. You shouldn't be afraid to show them in front of us. After all, like Abby says, we're family. And besides, you of all people deserve to be human sometimes."

Hearing this, Gibbs smiled slightly. This was why he considered Ducky to be one of his best friends.

Reaching his hand out, he asked, "Can somebody please help me up? My legs might still be kind of weak."

"You sure about that, Jethro?" Ducky asked. "If you think your legs are weak, maybe you should get some more rest."

"No, it's okay," Gibbs said, shaking his head. "I'll be fine." Before Ducky could protest anymore, Tony took his boss's hand and helped pull him off the floor.

Still a tiny bit wobbly, Gibbs held on to Tony's arms for support.

"You okay?" Tony asked. "You're not going to fall down, are you?"

"No, I'm okay," Gibbs replied, trying to steady himself.

"Well, is there anything you need?" Ducky asked, still concerned for his friend.

"I'd like to do something together," said Gibbs. "With everyone."

After thinking about it for only a couple of seconds, the first thing out of Tony's mouth was, "How about drinks?"

"Why is that the first thing you can think of, Tony?" asked McGee.

"No, I don't want to drink," Gibbs answered. "I want to eat and just hang out." Realizing how hungry he was, he held his growling stomach.

"I could make something at my place," Tony offered.

"Really?" exclaimed Abby. "I am starving. I haven't eaten anything since— I can't even remember the last time I ate today."

"Yep," Tony responded. "Apparently, everyone is invited. So, do you like Italian?"

McGee and Ducky both rolled their eyes while Ziva groaned.

"I'm kidding!" Tony laughed. "I can make you some meat and potatoes, if that's what you want, boss."

"No," said Gibbs. "I mean, I like meat and potatoes, but I do like Italian."

Hearing that, Tony smiled. "Would you be okay with pasta?" he asked. Admittedly, he knew that pasta was one of the easiest things he could cook. "I'll make enough for everyone, including seconds."

"With a lot of meatballs?" Gibbs asked, almost sounding like a child.

"Of course," Tony chuckled. "You can't have pasta without meatballs." It was good to see his boss perking up a bit.

With their plans for a late-night dinner all set up, everyone started to head out, including a slightly more relaxed Gibbs.

Although he wouldn't be able to forget the children he had failed to save, Gibbs felt much better. Now, he was ready to have dinner and spend some time with his family.


End file.
